By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

An Alabaster councilman said he is pleased with the number and diversity of applicants the city has received for its upcoming board of education.

Alabaster officials began accepting school board applications on Nov. 21, which was about a month after the Alabaster City Council voted to form a city school district separate from the Shelby County School System.

Since opening the application process, the city has received “about 15-20” applications representing a multitude of backgrounds, Ward 6 Councilman Scott Brakefield said.

“We have had a pretty good response so far,” Brakefield said Dec. 12. “I am very impressed with what we have seen come across so far.”

Brakefield said the resumés have come from “interested and highly qualified” applicants who have backgrounds in finance, education and other fields.

“It’s been a wide variety, which is good. We want to make sure the board is made up of a little bit of everything,” he said. “We don’t want to be weighted too heavily toward one side. The more experience you can appoint, the better.”

After the council finishes collecting the applications on Dec. 31, the City Council’s Education Committee will interview applicants beginning in January before narrowing the pool to a determined number.

The City Council will then interview the remaining applicants before appointing five board of education members. Board of education members will serve on a volunteer basis.

After the school board is appointed, it will become a government entity independent from the City Council, and will work to establish Alabaster’s upcoming city school district. Council members previously said they would like to have the school board seated by February 2012.

Those interested in applying for the school board must be residents of Alabaster, and must complete the city’s application at Cityofalabaster.com/city-of-alabaster-school-board-application/sp/498. For those without Internet access, hard copies of the application can be picked up at Alabaster City Hall and mailed back to City Hall at 201 First St. N., Alabaster, Ala., 35007, Attention: Education Subcommittee.

Applicants also are encouraged to submit a resume, a cover letter detailing their qualifications and why they are interested in serving on the board. All applicants are subject to background checks and drug screenings.

Applicants are not required to have a college degree.